Welcome to The Hawai'i Rural Water Association

The last quarterly Board meeting was be held on Thursday, March 1, 2018, on Oahu. Please click here for the agenda.--Stay tuned for more information on the winner of the 2018 Great American Water Taste Test!--2017 Great American Water Taste Test:Congratulations to Consolidated Baseyard of Maui, who not only won best tasting water at the 2016 HWWA & HRWA Annual Conference and Expo, but also placed in the top five in the nation at the 2017 Great American Water Taste Test in Washington DC. Click here to watch and click here read about the winner.--

State Rural Water Associations:The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has released its "Interim Guidance for Managers and Workers Handling Untreated Sewage from Individuals with Ebola in the United States." This interim guidance is intended for workers who handle untreated sewage that comes from hospitals, medical facilities, and other facilities with confirmed individuals with Ebola. It provides recommendations on the types of personal protective equipment (PPE) to be used and proper hygiene for the safe handling of untreated sewage that may contain Ebola virus. The CDC indicates the interim guidance can be used to reduce the workers’ risk of exposure to infectious agents including Ebola virus when working with untreated sewage.

Key Points:

Ebola virus is more fragile than many enteric viruses that cause diarrheal disease or hepatitis.

The envelope that covers Ebola makes it more susceptible to environmental stresses and to chemical germicides than non-enveloped viruses, such as hepatitis A, poliovirus, and norovirus.

Use PPE to protect broken skin and mucous membranes and properly use the PPE, including how to put it on and take it off.

Ensure all workers always practice good personal hygiene, including frequent hand washing to reduce potential exposures to any of the pathogens in sewage.

--State Rural Water Associations:

Yesterday, the United States National Security Agency and Cyber Command Director Michael Rogers testified before the House Select Intelligence Committee. The Director testified that unnamed foreign nations and groups have gained the technical capability to take down control systems that operate U.S. power grids, water systems and other critical infrastructure.

"We have seen instances where we're observing intrusions into industrial control systems... what we think we are seeing is reconnaissance by many of those actors in an attempt to ensure they understand our systems, so that they can then, if they choose, exploit the vulnerability within those control systems... there shouldn't be any doubt in our minds that there are nation states and groups out there that have the capability to do that [to flip the switch if they want to]... to shut down or stall our ability to operate our basic infrastructure, whether it is generating power across this nation, or moving water and fuel... we have seen individuals loose inside of critical U.S. infrastructure, that has a presence that suggests that there is a vulnerability that others want to exploit... all of that leads me to believe it is only a matter of when, not if, we are going to see something dramatic," Rogers told members of the House Committee.

Once installed in a control system, the malware enables the attackers to operate like trusted insiders. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has begun holding secret briefings for energy company leaders to highlight "ongoing" cyberthreats to control systems. The DHS Industrial Control Systems Cyber Emergency Response Team (ICS-CERT) has scheduled about a dozen meetings at FBI field offices across the country to discuss the Havex malware family and the recently discovered BlackEnergy cyberthreat. ICS-CERT has issued alerts on two cyberthreats to control systems this year, focusing on the Havex malware -- also known as Dragonfly or "Energetic Bear" -- and the BlackEnergy criminal malware (ICS-CERT). The full testimony of the Director and video of the hearing is available on CSPAN (link).

Please join us for a morning Talk Story session nearest you hosted by HRWA & the SDWBin March! Click here for registration form!__________________

We will be holding the next DSO Exam Review Classesin March and April on Maui and Kauai! Click here for the registration form.__________________

The next Backflow Assembly Tester Training will be held May 7-11, 2018. Click here for registration form and exam details.__________________